Ophiuchus
Ophiuchus is a subordinate and advisor of the Zodiac Emperors, as well as the descendant of Emperor Sagittarius. Biography Ophiuchus was a lesser prince in the Sagittarius house, which then paid tribute to Scorpius. He was a romantic, longing for the old days when his family had ruled their empire independently. When he discovered that the original Zodiac Emperors were not dead, but imprisoned, he began plotting to free them. He hired the Windjammers to perform the actual snatch, later joining them on Earth's Moon just in time to stop Emperor Aries from killing them all. He helped bring Aries up to speed on current events, including the fact that there were no Rangers on Earth. He was promptly proven wrong when a lone Red Ranger stopped their attempt to press-gang humans from Angel Grove into their new army. When Taurus was roused from his sleep, he treated Ophiuchus with disdain, interrupting and barely listening to him except to give orders. After Aries' relatively respectful treatment Ophiuchus was rather crestfallen. Things did not improve as Taurus gave him what was essentially busywork, to keep him out of the way. He commiserated with Pitch over his predicament and admitted the monster wasn't as dumb as he'd presumed. Taurus subjected him to outright abuse when he suggested that it was time to hand over control to Emperor Gemini, throwing furniture and yelling at him until he left. Gemini himself told Ophiuchus not to worry about it, since whatever Taurus would do would give him more time for his own project. He sent Ophiuchus to have a monster collect DNA samples from the Rangers, which he did. Gemini's apparent reluctance to fight led to Ophiuchus playing messenger boy again; he garnered permission to send some scouts down to occupy the other Emperors. Doing the same for Cancer, he finally had the temerity to suggest a plan of his own, and received support from Sagittarius. He sent down Praziolite, successfully getting the Rangers to produce the damaged Pink Zeo Subcrystal to leech off the monster's powers. Unfortunately, in growing giant-sized Praziolite destroyed the fellow Windjammer intended to steal the crystal. With little time to act, Ophiuchus headed down himself, snatching the Zeo Subcrystal out of the Red Ranger's hands. It burned him, but he was able to escape with it. He took time to recover from his injuries, during which time Sagittarius visited him. He overheard an argument between his ancestor and Leo. After Leo left, Ophiuchus agreed that he seemed defensive and battle-hungry, more interested in fighting the Rangers than killing them. He felt ready to return to duty by the end of the summer, but Sagittarius was loathe to let him. Aside from his injuries, his presence tilted the balance of power slightly, and most of the other Zodiac Emperors were uneasy about his presence. Pitch came to visit him, and Virgo stopped by at the same time. When she asked their advice on whether to send a decoy monster down or not, Ophiuchus was unsure, asking how distracting the plan itself was. Virgo decided she didn't need any decoys, thanked them and left. While watching Taurus train, Virgo struck up a conversation with Ophiuchus. She wasn't happy with their current tactics; they were much weaker than they had been last time, and hadn't adjusted their plans accordingly. She then asked Ophiuchus to spar with her. Initially it seemed as if he was winning, until she was nearly disarmed--she quickly turned the tables on him. The demonstration impressed the Windjammers, and when Virgo offered to keep teaching Ophiuchus, he agreed. Ophiuchus asked Libra for the chance to help with her next plan, and she assented, allowing him to face the Blue Ranger in combat. However, the other Rangers arrived and the Zodiac Emperors teleported him out, to his frustration. Libra explained that he'd done what she needed, slow down the Rangers so she could restore more of their past foes, and sent him to rest. He quietly asked for a rain check from the Blue Ranger on their battle. He cashed that check a little while later, and to his surprise she seemed to want to duel him, asking her teammates to leave and make sure the Zodiac Emperors weren't up to anything else. She disarmed him initially, but hesitated to strike the killing blow. He turned the tables, but the Red Ranger attacked from behind, wounding him. Violet started to question his motives for serving the Zodiac Emperors, saying that grunt work wouldn't get him what he wanted. Before he could respond, he was teleported away, to his frustration. However, Libra and Virgo told him that Scorpius's forces were on the way, and they couldn't waste him. They sent him to sickbay. While training, Ophiuchus discovered that he was stronger than usual, by a lot. Cancer told him about his theory that the Zodiac Emperors' powers, and their tendency to wax and wane depending on their constellations' alignment, was carried down the bloodline. With Sagittarius nearing alignment, Ophiuchus would be at his most powerful. He suggested that Ophiuchus test his abilities, and he chose to do so by attacking the Blue Ranger. This time he encased both of them in a forcefield to avoid interruptions. He was actually able to overpower her, to his own surprise. When he hesitated, Violet challenged his loyalty again, accidentally getting him to mention their army. As the fight continued, Sabrina took the forcefield down, and the Zodiac Emperors took Ophiuchus back. They accused him of trying to seize power for Sagittarius or himself. Even though he insisted he'd only been trying to help, the Emperors decided that he needed to be punished for his arrogance. Sagittarius carried it out. Afterwards, a battered Ophiuchus stumbled across a new plan by Aquarius, Pisces and Cancer. He agreed to help, and personally delivered a bomb to the home of the Wildman sisters. Afterwards Sagittarius confronted him, less than pleased with how he'd treated the Rangers, particularly his blue rival. Ophiuchus was defiant, even after Sagittarius pointed out that any apparent favoritism could have gotten him killed by the other Emperors. He then joined Pisces in a cave, where the Emperor was working on another project. He continued working on that project, until Sagittarius confronted him about his recent string of absences. Ophiuchus turned it back on him, asking why the Emperor was talking to him instead of the other Zodiac Emperors whose secret he was keeping. That led to a discussion of Sagittarius's tactics, and he let slip that he considered the Rangers necessary to keep the alliance together. Ophiuchus accused him of going through the motions to drag the fight out, and Sagittarius attacked him for his insolence. Recovering he apologized and offered to show him the other Emperors' project. Sagittarius agreed, and Ophiuchus teased him with the admission that he actually did respect the Blue Ranger too much to blow her up in her sleep. After the project was revealed--the Zodiac Emperors had Violet under their control--and failed on a second mission, Ophiuchus helped her. He asked what had happened, and reassured her that her defeat wasn't her fault before getting her out to avoid becoming the Emperors' whipping boy. On assignment, he went looking for Capricorn, and found him in the form of Tumnus, playing music in the woods. Ophiuchus was disgusted with his behavior, chewing the Emperor out until Capricorn roughed him up to remind him of his place. On Capricorn's instructions he returned to the rest of the Emperors to tell them Capricorn had a plan of his own. After that plan resulted in Violet actually saving the Wildman family from Jewel Golems, he returned and tried to protest her punishment as a logical reaction to an illogical attack. Sagittarius prevented him from interfering. After her punishment was over, he went to her cave to check on her. Violet asked why he was helping her, and he called it "a favor from one underappreciated warrior to another." He also assured her he'd make sure Capricorn started fighting for himself. Heading down to the planet, he caught Capricorn talking to Tayisa. The Emperor was planning to defect, and Ophiuchus attacked. Tayisa stepped in on Capricorn's behalf, until the other Rangers arrived. When Ophiuchus pointed out that with so many enemies gathered, the Zodiac Emperors would have to notice the fight, Capricorn reluctantly sent out Jewel Golems to attack the Rangers. The fight continued until the Scarab Rider's words got through to Capricorn, who separated her and Ophiuchus. He used the remaining Jewel Golems to drag Ophiuchus back to the Equinox. The other Zodiac Emperors gave Ophiuchus another beating for not telling them about Capricorn's strange behavior. After a team of Rangers was able to rescue Violet, Aquarius sent Ophiuchus down after her. To his surprise, Violet was still on the Emperors' side, seeing the Rangers as kidnappers. He pointed out how much better the Rangers were treating her, and came to the realization that he cared more about her safety than being loyal to the ones who'd mistreated him so often. He told her the truth, that she was a former Ranger who'd been kidnapped and brainwashed into helping the Zodiac Emperors, and that they would never trust her or treat her well. He told her to stay where she was, and she thanked him for saving her again. Violet offered him the chance to defect, but before he could take it Jewel Golems attacked. Trapping him in a crystal cocoon, they brought him back to the Equinox. Personality Ophiuchus is bookish and subdued, but will go to great lengths to get what he wants. He has very grand ideas about the past, and wants to restore glory to his house and empire, regardless of what that means for him personally. This means he can be a bit of a martyr. Talents and Abilities He is a skilled hand-to-hand fighter, particularly with kusarigamas. Appearance Ophiuchus resembles a green, serpentine humanoid with white bone-accented armor. It is unclear if this is his body or a suit of armor. Category:Neo Zeo Category:PR Villains Category:Male Category:Evil Turns Good Category:PR Allies